Prince of Bel-Air stars Will Smith and Janet Hubert reflect on decades-long feud

Will Smith wants to set the record straight for a decades-long feud.

The 52-year-old appeared on Facebook Watch’s “Red Table Talk” to talk about reconciliation with his former “Fresh Prince of Bell-Air” co-star Janet Hubert.

The series – which is typically hosted by wife Jada Pinkett Smith, daughter Willow Smith, and stepmother Adrienne Banfield Norris – featured clinical psychologist Dr Ramani Durvasula to facilitate the conversation. In the clip shared by People magazine on Friday, Smith said he wanted to talk about “something that has really troubled me for almost 30 years.”

“My painful situation concerned the ‘Fresh Prince’,” he explained. “I had a feud, a war of words I had been in with Janet that I never thought would be resolved.

“The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” originally aired from 1990 to 1996. Smith and Hubert, 64, buried the hatchet on the sitcom’s HBO Max reunion special, which featured premiered on Wednesday.

“I really couldn’t see myself celebrating without facing this,” Smith admitted.

Hubert played Aunt Viv for the first three seasons of the series. However, she left in 1993 citing “creative differences”. Hubert was then replaced by Daphne Maxwell Reid, 72. Smith and Hubert have since expressed animosity towards each other in the press.

According to the outlet, the sit-down was the first time the two had seen each other in 27 years.

During the conversation, Hubert explained why she left the series at the peak of its success.

“It was insane,” she said, quoted by the media. “They gave me this really bad deal in the third season. They said, “You have two months and two weeks of work and you cannot work elsewhere. So that meant that my salary had been reduced. I had a new baby and a husband who was out of work, so I said no. I did not accept their offer.

“I was never fired, but the misconception was still there,” Hubert continued. “I was trapped – what could I do? They said, “OK, so we’re going to recast your role,” and I said, “What can I say? I was deeply hurt.

Hubert said Smith’s comments about leaving over the years had hurt his career.

“You were going forward and getting bigger and bigger, we knew you were going to be huge,” Hubert explained. “I’ve lost everything – reputation, everything – and I understand you may have moved on, but you know those words – to call a tough black woman in Hollywood is the kiss of death. And it’s hard enough being a dark skinned black woman in this business.

Still, Hubert said she was eager to finally resolve their differences.

“I felt it was necessary for us to finally move forward, and I’m sorry I tore you to pieces,” she said.

“First of all, thank you for sharing this with me,” replied Smith. “I didn’t know that, when I look back now it’s obvious you were having a hard time and I felt like you hated me. I couldn’t celebrate 30 years of this show and not celebrate you, celebrate your contribution to the show, celebrate your contribution to my life.

The couple then apologized for their tumultuous relationship.

“The person I want to be is someone who protects you, not someone who unleashes the dogs on you,” Smith said.

“Red Table Talk” airs Friday at 12 p.m. ET.